ecstasy. || jeffmads (DISCONTINUED)

|chapter 2|

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I sat awkwardly across from the other three adolescents at the table. Aaron and two girls. One by the name of Theodosia and the other by the name of Dolley.

Theodosia was slightly shorter than Aaron from what I saw when she came to welcome us. She had her hair up to just below her shoulder blades, done in a single braid. Sturdy figure. She looked like an athlete. She wore a white skirt above her knees with a black sleeveless top which she'd tucked in. She had a medium pitched voice and seemed to enjoy talking, her obvious British twang audible. From the moment I first saw her, I noticed the glint which appeared in her right eye when she was excited. It seemed to appear most each time she spoke to Aaron. In the way the two would look at each other, it was clear to see that there was a close connection between them.

"So, James, is it?" She began. I didn't even get to answer. "Well, James. Thanks for joining us. Like Aaron said, I'm Theodosia. You can call me Theo, though. It's what most people say, anyway. In case Aaron didn't explain it to you, him, Dolley, Thomas and I are doing a project on the environment. We needed another person and-" I cut her off before she finished.
"Hold on," I started. She closed her mouth and smiled, nodding. "Who's Thomas?"
"OH!" she yelled so suddenly that it scared me a bit, "Thomas is our fifth member. He isn't here today, though."

I nodded in response and she carried on.
"Yeah, so, we haven't exactly got a set idea yet, but we've got some rough drafts. Dolley?" She seemed to signal to the girl who had a purple laptop open. Dolley nodded and opened her mouth. This would be the first time I'd hear her speak, as she'd greeted me with just a smile and wave when I arrived.

"Well, basically, we wanted to . . ."
Her voice was gentle and calm, like the sound of waves from a distance. The type of voice to put you to sleep. Quite the opposite of Theodosia. She had a southern twang like me, but slightly stronger. Dolley had shorter hair, probably shoulder length. I couldn't quite tell because it was tied in two pompoms on her head. She wore purple framed glasses and had purple star-shaped earrings on. I figured it was probably her favourite colour. She wore a purple varsity jacket on top of a light blue top which only reached half way down her abdomen and so her stomach was exposed. She stood up to show us something as she continued, and I then noticed she had a small silver belly ring. She wore plain black joggers with glitter on them. It was quite a nice style, I thought.

After Dolley finished speaking she sat back down.
"So, James? What do you think is best?" Damn it. I hadn't heard a word she said for my uncomfortably close observing. But I couldn't not say anything.
"They're all great. Which ones have you picked so far?" I asked, as casually as possible.
"Well, Aaron and I like the third idea, and Theo likes the second."
I thought for a few seconds before answering.
"I think I like that one too." I said, just for the sake of it. She nodded,
"Great. So it's two on two. We'll see what Thomas says and the one he picks is the one we'll choose. Is that alright with everyone?"
The three of us nodded in agreement as Dolley closed her laptop.
"Great stuff." Said Theodosia, "I don't know about you lot, but I'm pretty tired. Should we call it a day? I'll get Thomas' answer tonight and we can start tomorrow. Sound cool?"
The rest of us agreed, and that was that.

I looked at the time, it was just four o' clock. Theodosia and Aaron left together, waving us goodbye. Dolley and I stood up and she smiled at me as she picked up her belongings.
"I'm off to the bus stop. Thanks for coming, James."
"Oh," I began, "so am I. And you're welcome."
Her smile widened, I could tell she was about to make a proposal.

"Nice. Wanna walk with me?"

There it was. I wasn't sure whether or not to agree. I wasn't used to people offering to walk with me. But despite this, I nodded. What would be the point of saying no, anyway?
"Sure."
"Great." She said as we began to walk. I looked across at her. She was slightly shorter than me, maybe a few inches. I noticed she was wearing what looked like a brand new pair of purple sneakers.

We walked along in silence for the next few minutes, until she decided to speak first, as I probably wouldn't have done it.

"You new here? Haven't seen you around before."

This was about to get a bit awkward. Not something I wasn't used to.
"Oh, uh, no. I've been here since freshman year."
She looked across at me, blinking with disbelief.
"Kidding?" She wondered. I shook my head. This time she took me more seriously.
"How come I've never seen you?" She asked, clearly shocked. Confused. I didn't know how to answer that question and so I shrugged. She looked down, as if ashamed.
"I'm sorry..." She consoled, quietly. I sighed. She really had no reason to apologise.
"What for?" I questioned. She shrugged,
"Well, you know... not knowing your existence until today."

I shrugged again.
"Oh, that's not your fault. A lot of people don't know my existence. I'm fine with it."
I really did mean each word I said, but she somehow didn't believe me. She didn't say it, but I could hear it in the way she spoke.
"No... don't say that." she paused, "...are you friends with Aaron?"
I shook my head.
"Not at all. We met today."
She looked at me, confused,
"What? How?" she questioned.

I didn't know either.

"He approached me just before he brought me to you. Asked me if I was James Madison."
Hearing myself talk about this made me realise how strange it actually sounded. Dolley was very confused, and so was I at this point.
"Well... are you?" she assured. I nodded.
"I am."

After that, we were quiet again. This was obviously a weird situation for her as much as it was for me. It got me thinking. Aaron and I had never spoken once. Neither had me and any of the others in our group. When I asked him if someone had asked him to get me, he said no. That could have meant two things: he either lied, or he was hiding something.

Either way, I needed to find out.

And soon.

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